Rotary slip



' July 21, 1942.

L. F. BRAUER ROTARY SLIP Filed Feb. 12, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet l July 2-1, 1942. I L. F. BRAUER 2,290,799

ROTARY SLIP Filed Feb. 12, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR 60 E MW) ATTORNEY Patented July 21, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,290,799 ROTARY su t Leo F. Brauer, Oklahoma City, Okla. Application February 12, 1941, Serial No. 3 78 643 6 Claims.

with the degree of taper former on the outer face.

or periphery of the slips. With the advent of the deeper drilling of wells necessitating larger sized drill pipe, it became apparent that larger sized slips were necessary, and with such increased size and weight, slips became bulksome,

hard to handle, which obviously lessened the efficiency and decreased the safety of the drilling operation.

It is therefore an important object of this invention to provide slips having a body portion constructed from lighter weight materials in order to facilitate handling of the slips and in: crease the safety factor in the drilling operation.

Another object of this invention is to provide a slip made up of a separate body and one piece jaw cooperatively arranged with the body of the slip so that they are supported at both the top.

and bottom in order to assure efficient secure ment of the jaws, as well as substantially equalize the force thereagainst.

And still another object of this invention is to provide a slip construction made up of a lighter weight body and one piece steel jaws anchored together in such a manner so that maximum strength slips for a required size can be con: structed without fracturing the lighter weight material due to the jaws slipping out of the body section.

And still another object of this invention is to provide a slip constructed of a separate light weight body and a one piece steel jaw anchored together in such a manner to prevent any possibility of rotation or turnin of the jaw during the drilling operation.

An additional object of this invention is to provide a slip construction of minimum weight to facilitate handling and having a handle and shaft therefor which is limited in rotation to prevent unobtrusive or awkward disposition of the handle during the drilling operation.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be evident from the following detailed des iptiq e d i .c niunqti n with t e @9 111- 5,?

panying drawings which illustrate one form of m inv ntion,-

In th r w n s= e 1 is a i w n. p r e e hmv n a pa of the improved slips.

F g. 21s a ew in e v on of t e ear r a portion of the slips and showing the handle structure. I

Fig. 3 is a front elevational view showing the o m mb r o th mproved p separated d h i t e aws remove Fig. 4 is a top view of the improved slips with the handle removed. 4

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view of one of th Slips sho n F g re 3- Fig. 6 is a sectional view of one of the inserts or jaws for the improved slips.

Referring to the drawings in detail and more particularly to Figs. 1 and 3, reference character 2 represents the body portions of the slips. The slips as shown in Fig. l are two in number, it being understood that they are to cooperate with an identical pair of slips disposed in a rotary table n s wn in he v.drill n era iq Furthermore, it will be'underetood that any number of S ip? m 1. .599 With parting from the spirit of the invention. In view of the fact that the body portions 2' are of identical Structure, r e cla i y of ex an on re rence characters referring to the details will apply to both portions. '9

h Portions 2 a P ferab y co sed o a light weight metal consisting substantially of percent of a magnesium alloyfone percent of copper, one percent of aluminum and three percent impurities. Ihe light weight materials allow for construction of a slip that weighs about one-third of 'theconventional'slip, and the ease in handling a li'ghter s lip will increase the safety of the drilling operation by decreasing accidents caused from handling heavy slips from awkward positions on slickrig floors.

Each member l as' shown in Figs. 1 and 3, is arcuate in cross section throughout its length and is provided withanarcuate inner face 4 and a taperingouter face or periphery 6 in order to respectively cooperate with a drill stem and seat of rotary tabie (not shown) in the conventional manner. The outer peripheryof the body portions may be eoated or sprayed with any suitable non-corrosive material impervious to lighter acids and salt water. Furthermore, the light weight alloy is of drillable material facilitating removal or the slips in'ca"'they are laccidentallydropp'ed iii the wellhole.

The inner arcuate face 4 of a body member 2 is formed with a groove or recess 8 disposed adjacent the lower or bottom end of the body 2. The groove 8 is constructed at an angle to the vertical for a purpose as will be hereinafter described. A protruding tongue or projection I 6 is centrally disposed in the groove 8. The upper portion of each body 2 is provided with a centrally disposed arcuate groove or recess I2 conforming to the shape of the slip. The sidewalls of the groove l2 define portions of spaced projections or shoulders l4 and IB for a purpos as will be hereinafter set forth.

The shoulders i6 is tapped to provide a plurality of bolt holes [8, while the shoulder I4 is cut away at 26 to receive key plate 22 secured by a bolt 24 threaded in the shoulder portion l4 for a V purpose as will be hereinafter set forth.

The body portions 2 are each provided with protruding couplings or hinge portions 26 adapted to receive bolt 28 for securing the slip sections together. The bolt 28 is held in securing position by anut 36. The upper portion of the circular bolt is provided with a flat portion 32 having a projection 34 for a purpose as will be hereinafter set forth. The upper part of the flat portion 32 is provided with an apertured rounded car 35 to which is secured a handle member 3'! by the screw or like means 4|.

As clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 6 the inner face of each of the body portions 2 is adapted to receive an arcuately shaped liner or jaw 36 composed of case hardened steel. The outer face of a jaw 36 is provided with a plurality of serrations or teeth 33 in order to effect a gripping engagement with the drill stem (not shown). The jaw members 36 are constructed at their lower end with a projection 40 outwardly disposed at an angle to the vertical in substantial conformity in angularity to that of recess 8 in body portions 2. Furthermore, a notch 42 is formed centrally and cooperates with the projection ID as will be hereinafter explained. The uppermost portion of a jaw 36 is constructed with outwardly disposed flange 44 having a recess 46 defining an outer rim 48 cooperating with the shoulder l6 and groove [2 respectively of a body portion. A clearly shown in Figs. 1, 4 and 6, each of the jaws are provided with a centrally disposed notch for receiving the key plate 22. The flange 44 is provided with tapped holes 50 in alignment with the tapped holes l8 for receiving the bolts 52 securing the upper portion of a jaw to a body 2.

The key plate 22 and lug 42 cooperate with the bolts 52 to prevent turning of the jaws 36 with respect to the bodies 2. It will be apparent that with the turning of the drill stem the possibility of the jaws rotating in the body portions is eliminated.

In the drilling operation the force on the slip jaw is in a downward vertical direction. The constiuction of the jaws with the angular projection 40 and overhanging flange 44 and rim 48 provides a one-piece jaw which is supported at both the top and bottom of the slips in order to proportion the downward force or load equally throughout the slips. In anchoring steel jaws to a slip body of lighter material it is apparent that numerous places of anchoring in a limited space such as in the inner face of the body would weaken the slips. Thearrangement of groove 8, projection 40 and lug 42, as wellas the flange 44, eliminates the necessity of a plurality of securing screws or the like for anchoring the jaws so that a proper sized lighter slip canbe con- 7 structed with the required strength. In addition, the anchoring means herein disclosed provides a long smooth uninterrupted inner face of a light weight body 2 adapted to receive an uninterrupted one piece jaw 36 to substantially eliminate the possibility of fracture by the turning movement of the drill stem and table.

Alluding further to the flat portion 32 of the handle bolt it will be apparent that the projection 34 is limitted in its rotation by abutting a sidewall 56 of a body. In this manner in handling the slips for opening or closing, the handle is never in an awkward or obtrusive position so as to impair the efliciency, but is always in proper place.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the invention provides a slip construction adapted for rotary drilling wherein one piece jaws are anchored to body sections by a groove and lug at the bottom to eliminate securing screws and the like. I Furthermore, the anchoring of the jaws to the body sections is such to support them at both the top and bottom and thus proportion the force of the drill stem throughout the slips. The invention also provides the use of extremely light material with a steel jaw whereby the light body section of the slip can be made with sufficient strength for a required size withoutany danger of the jaw slipping out of the lighter body section.

Changes may be made in the combination and arrangement of parts as heretofore set forth in the specification and shown in the drawings, it being understood that any modification in the precise embodiment of the invention may be made withinthe scope of the following claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

lfA drill slip comprising an arcuate body formed of lightweight material and provided with a complementary forward face, a groove provided in the forward face, an arcuate gripping member positioned against the forward face and having an outward proportion disposed in the groove, an overhanging lip provided at the top'of the gripping member and adapted to be supported by the body, and means in the groove cooperating with means on the projection to prevent rotation of the gripping member relatively to the body.

2. A drill slip comprising an arcuate body formedof lightweight material and provided with a complementary forward face, a groove provided in the forward face, an arcuate gripping member positioned against the forward face and having an outward projection disposed in the groove, an overhanging lip provided at the top of the gripping member and adapted to be supported by the body, means in the groove cooperating with means on the projection to prevent rotation of the gripping member relativelyto the body, and means for securing the gripping member to the body.

3. A'drill slip comprising 'an arcuate body formed of lightweight material and provided with a, complementary forwardface, a groove provided in the forward face, an arcuate gripping member positioned against the forward face and having an outward projection disposed in the groove, an' overhanging lip provided at the top of the gripping member and adapted to be supported by the body, means in the groove cooperating with means on the-projection to prevent rotation of the gripping member relatively to the body, a notch portion in'the overhanging lip, and a key secured to the body and cooperating with the notch to prevent rotation of the gripping member.

4. In a device of the character described, comprising a plurality of casing slips having inter-engaging means on their lateral edges permitting pivotal movement of the slips, means for holding the inter-engageable means against lateral displacement relative to each other and consisting of a bolt having a projection thereon, a handle secured to the bolt, said projection adapted to abut the lateral edges of the slips and limit the rotative movement of the handle.

5. In a device of the character described, comprising a plurality of casing slips formed from light-weight material and having interengaging means on their lateral edges permitting pivotal movement of the slips, means for holding the inter-engagable means against lateral displacement relative to each other and consisting of a bolt having a projection thereon, a handle secured to the bolt, said projection adapted to abut the lateral edges of the slips and limit the rotative movement of the handle whereby the handle is always in operating position.

6. A drill slip comprising an arcuate body formed with an angled groove in the forward face thereof, a second groove formed in the upper portion of the body, a one-piece jaw adapted to be positioned flush against the forward face, outward projecting means provided on the jaw and cooperating with the angled groove for supporting the jaw in the lower portion of the body, an overhanging flange on the jaw cooperating with the second groove for supporting the jaw at the uppermost portion of the body, and means comprising a key plate for fastening the jaw to the body at the uppermost portion thereof.

LEO F. BRAUER. 

